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Growing up, I was the classic, ‘It doesn’t matter' guy. I laughed everything off. I had gone through a lot of difficult personal things but I always seemed to be very resilient. By the time I reached the age of 30 I was partying a lot to get me through.

I decided to pull away from that and lead a healthier lifestyle than I had been - but I wasn’t dealing with how I was really feeling.

I contemplated suicide twice. The first time was like a battle with myself not to do it and I was petrified that I was going to.

About two years later when I thought I was getting better, the suicidal thoughts came back again, but it was different, because this time it felt like it was a good idea and I was actually excited about doing it and had it all planned out.

Fortunately a friend I hadn’t heard from for ages called me out the blue that night. I didn’t tell her at the time what I was planning to do, but her call pulled me out of it and made me realise that it wasn’t what I wanted.

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Then my body just shut down, I didn’t realise I was suffering from depression because my symptoms were physical but as soon as my doctor diagnosed me, I knew it was true.

The hardest thing for me about depression was the anxiety that came with it. I mean complete and constant panic. I was given antidepressants but I believed there was a better way to help myself.

That’s what got me on the path to self-development. I saw a life coach and felt so much better and stronger but that wasn’t enough for me, I wanted to understand what it was that made me break in the first place.

When I went back in my own life to explore why I was the person I was it was rough. When you bring up the things that have held you back for over 30 years, your fears around things like rejection, failure and humiliation come to the fore.

When you dig deeper it can bring up even more difficult stuff but that’s what led me into this work and the journey of my own self-development.

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I think one of my strengths is that I can simplify things. I’m able to do that for the people I work with. The truth isn’t complicated, the truth is easy but it’s having the bottle to admit or hear the truth that is difficult. I now know I had been living my life in a state of full denial.

The way I see it is most people’s anxiety is a sort of defence mechanism because we are tirelessly suppressing our past.

What I understand now about our bodies is that they just want to heal. Our body and mind can’t heal if we won’t let it.

Through all of this, the work I’ve put into myself and changing my life and career, I’m unrecognisable as the man I was.

I work through the layers of people’s past with them. The truth is - nothing goes away until we accept it. Fear can only persist if you ignore it.

We are all a by-product of our experience and behaviours. The world around you is a direct reflection of what you need to fix. The answers are always within you. I’m the map that helps you to find them.

James is hosting a one-day coaching event at the Village Hotel, Glasgow on November 15 - for more info, head to hiddendepthscoaching.com .